Disney View: A Look Back at Classic Games

After dominating various forms of entertainment from the early twentieth century and on, it only made sense that the Walt Disney Company would seek out the next big thing that consumers were flocking to in the early 80s — video games.

Disney hasn't had the best track record of quality video games over the years, but many people might be surprised to find that there are actually a lot more good games out there based on Disney animation, aside from Kingdom Hearts series and Epic Mickey. This year may be the "Year of Luigi" as Nintendo would call it, however, it also seems to be the "Year of Disney" if you ask me.

Capcom is releasing an HD remaster of the classic NES game, DuckTales; a game based on the hit TV series starring Scrooge McDuck, a relative of Donald Duck. Following this extraordinary announcement, Sega followed suit by revealing a remake of another classic Disney game: Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse; a game that many people have claimed to be Mickey Mouse's best.

Castle of Illusion remake, left, and DuckTales Remastered, right.

I couldn't tell you how excited I am for each of these games to be released. They briefly had me forgetting about the big blockbuster titles that are also arriving later this year (Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us). My only hope is that other Disney classics will also receive similar treatment on modern consoles.

Take a journey with me back to 1988 and let's walk through the 90s looking at what I believe are some of the best, or most memorable, classic Disney games.

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Mickey Mousecapade (1988, NES)

Developer Hudson Soft only made one Mickey Mouse game, and it was also the first Mickey Mouse platformer. Maybe it's not the greatest Disney game on the NES, and perhaps it's not really all that great, but it's certainly a memorable classic. In Mickey Mousecapade, you have control of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse. If Minnie dies, you die. Luckily, she's invulnerable and she can attack enemies just like you. She mimics everything you have Mickey do, so you have to carefully time jumps so that she doesn't fall to her death and drag you down with her.

Mickey Mousecapade

The level design for its time was pretty clever, making up for its less-than-stellar graphics, though the game itself was quite short at just five levels. While the difficulty was a bit frustrating at times, especially for a game aimed towards kids, it did serve as a great training introduction to sort of learn how to play even harder games like Mega Man and Ninja Gaiden. The musical soundtrack was enjoyable, but mostly forgettable, except for the first stage's tune that occasionally pops into my mind. I don't expect to ever see it hit the Virtual Console, though I do recommend you pick up a copy and enjoy it for what it is - a piece of Disney history.

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Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (1990, NES)

Before Kinect Disneyland Adventures, there was Adventures in the Magic Kingdom on the NES. Developed by Capcom, Magic Kingdom was an early Disney title that basically served as an advertisement for Disney theme parks. On the surface, it appeared to be an RPG, allowing you to walk around Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in an RPG-style overhead view, talking to random people and answering trivia questions.

Adventures in the Magic Kingdom

Instead, it was a collection of mini games that had to be completed to collect a bunch of keys, allowing Mickey and the gang to have a parade. It has two platformer levels based on the Haunted Mansion ride and Pirates of the Caribbean, a first-person ride on Space Mountain, an Autotopia-based racer, and a horrible version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The game's soundtrack was done by composer Yoko Shimomura, who would later go on to work on the Kingdom Hearts series.

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Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (1990, NES)

If you grew up in the 90s, chances are you watched many Disney animated TV shows. Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is based on the show of the same name. Developed by Capcom, as I'm sure you can tell when you see its Mega Man-esque appearance (a visual style also recognizable in DuckTales), Rescue Rangers was notable for its memorable soundtrack and zany gameplay that enabled simultaneous two-player coop.

Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers

The difficulty was right up there with Capcom's Mega Man games, and it lacked a password system to continue from where you left off if you had lost, but it was a major success and very fun to play with a friend. Fun fact: Capcom released an NES sequel a few years later, but many gamers had already moved on to the Super NES by then.

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Mickey Mouse III: Dream Balloon (1992, NES)

There is a good chance that you might have played Dream Balloon without realizing it. It was only released in Japan, however, it did arrive in the U.S. with a complete makeover. Mickey was replaced with a clown and the game was released under the title Kid Klown in Night Mayor World. This was the resullt of Capcom's current hold of the Disney license in the States, so developer Kemco took actions to make sure we received what was actually a great game. It also spawned a few Kid Klown sequels that were actually developed as original games instead of sprite swapping from other Mickey games.

Mickey Mouse III: Dream Balloon

As a Mickey Mouse game, it's one of the best. And Kemco's sprite swapping didn't end there. You might remember the Crazy Castle series of games, most of which starred Bugs Bunny. Those were actually Mickey Mouse games in Japan. Thanks, Capcom.

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World of Illusion (1992, Genesis)

Castle of Illusion may have been a wonderful entry in Mickey's repertoire, but its sequel, World of Illusion, was more fun thanks to its two-player coop. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck teamed up for this adventure, armed with magical capes to defeat enemies with.

World of Illusion

The 16-bit graphics were beautiful, standing out as one of the better looking games on the Sega Genesis. We'll hopefully be able to play this game again soon, or for the first time, if Sega ends up remaking it after releasing the new Castle of Illusion.

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Aladdin (1993, Genesis)

Here's an interesting fact: Aladdin on the Sega Genesis is a completely different game from Aladdin on the Super Nintendo. One was developed by Virgin, and the other by Capcom, respectively. Virgin stepped in when Capcom's exclusive hold on Disney's license had expired. Fans of either version will argue over which game is better, but I have to hand it to Virgin.

Aladdin

The Genesis game was more of an action/platformer with graphics that complemented the film better, thanks to help from actual Disney animators. It offered a more challenging experience and faster paced gameplay, making it more fun than its SNES equivalent. Both are worth playing, though the clear winner is obvious to me.

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The Lion King (1994, SNES/Genesis)

After Aladdin, Virgin went on to release The Jungle Book, which I personally hated. Virgin's next Disney release was The Lion King. The developers once again worked closely with Disney animators to successfully transfer the film to a playable video game. Starting out as a young Simba, the game takes you through the film's memorable locations, having you become an adult lion during the later levels.

The Lion King (Sega Genesis)

It boasts a great soundtrack adapted from the movie, a comfortable control scheme, and a challenging experience from start to finish. While it had minor differences on both Genesis and Super Nintendo, the experience was great no matter which version you were playing.

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Mickey's Great Adventure in Tokyo Disneyland (1994, SNES)

Yet another Mickey game that was restricted to a Japan-only release. This is rather unfortunate, since it features new gameplay elements that set it apart from other Mickey games. In this game, Mickey is strapped with a dual-tank that allows you to fill water balloons and helium balloons. This requires quick reflexes and clever thinking to utilize the balloon types and successfully traverse the game's challenging levels.

Mickey's Great Adventure in Tokyo Disneyland

Most Mickey Mouse games during the 90s were too easy to complete, so the additional challenge in Tokyo Disneyland made it a more rewarding experience. It also congratulated you with a better ending for playing on a harder difficulty setting. It may not have been as well-received as Capcom's Magical Quest series on the Super Nintendo, but it stands out for its originality and challenging experience for adept gamers.

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Mickey Mania (1994, Genesis, SNES, Sega CD, PSone)

Here is what I believe to be the absolute best of Mickey Mouse's outings: Mickey Mania. As a tribute to Mickey's animated career, developer Traveller's Tales placed the mouse on an adventure through his own filmography, starting with 1928's "Steamboat Willie" as the first level. The game begins in black and white, allowing Mickey to meet his own original counter-part before switching to color as he interacts with the world.

Mickey Mania (Super Nintendo)

The level design was clever and the graphics were the best I had seen at the time for a Disney game. Mickey Mania was one of the last great platformers we would receive before the PlayStation's debut and gaming's transition into 3D. It was re-released in 1995 in an enhanced port to Sony's PlayStation in Europe, however, we never received the update in the U.S.

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Do you agree with my choices? Please share your favorite Disney gaming classics in the comments section. DuckTales and Castle of Illusion absolutely deserve to be featured on this list, but they are already receiving their due in the upcoming remasters. I hope to see additional remakes or re-releases arrive in the near future. For now, I'm going to stick with the classics as they are. A special shout out goes well-deserved to Kingdom Hearts and Epic Mickey, of course.

Like what you read? Disney View is a column by yours truly, offering an in-depth look at the man behind the mouse and the great legacy of Walt Disney animation.